This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I enjoyed the environment and the people I worked with but I felt the work I was doing wasn't challenging enough and I didn't have any real responsibility.
Everyone was really friendly so it made it a lot better to get on with people and I would say that the people are quite close. It definitely helps that the company hosts social events.
People were always willing to help, whether it was with my job role or university work. Everyone who works here is really friendly so even if a member of your team couldn't help, other people were willing to help where they could.
I was always busy doing something. There were moments where I was too busy and would have to stay at work late to meet deadlines but there were other times when I had no work to do. Overall, I would say that I had an almost perfect balance.
I was responsible for quite a few things but they weren't related to my job role. They were the kind of jobs that a personal assistant or secretary would do.
Having a placement helped to improve my general skills, such as time management and organisational skills, but I don't feel as though I learnt anything that could possibly help me in a future career, which is a shame because that was my main reason for wanting to do a placement. I think this was just the case in my team because all the other interns seemed to have proper responsibilities and learnt a lot in the time that they were here.
The Company
HP is quite laid back so the atmosphere is great. There's always a good vibe in the office and you can take breaks whenever you want and do whatever you want. Even if you're being immature in the office, people don't say anything, they just laugh with you. If it was quite an uptight company, I doubt you could do the same thing.
There's an overlap period where the intern you're replacing you teaches you everything about the role. Without that I really don't know what I would have done. Everything was really well organised. I was even involved in recruiting my replacement which was nice, because it made me feel as though my opinion was valuable.
The good thing about HP is that they have online training courses in pretty much everything, so if there is a quiet period, you can learn about almost anything. In terms of my actual role, I don't feel like I developed my knowledge as much as I would like to.
Flexi Time
Sports and Social Club
My role doesn't take on graduates, however the fact that I have already worked in the company may be helpful if I was to apply for a graduate role. My boss seems impressed by my work so I think if he was contacted in the future if I applied for a graduate role, he would definitely recommend me.
The Culture
During the handover period we have a lot of events going on so that everyone can get to know each other. After this though, it seems to die down although we still go out every now and then. I would definitely say that I have made friends for life. You spend so much time with the other interns that you get to know them really well in the year that you work together.
The rent is really cheap. Going out isn't too expensive either because it is a really studenty place.
The clubs are about 15/20mins away from the office but the nightlife is great and there are some pretty awesome places to eat after. Even the bars are amazing. It's so much fun getting to know a new city and everything it has to offer!
We get free gym membership so I always had something to do. The other interns and I have also played mini golf and been go karting. There are loads of places to eat and go shopping, so you don't really run out of things to do here.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
South West
June 2014